Bucs Takeaways: Kirk Cousins Tires Out Tampa
Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
For the second time in three weeks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped a golden opportunity to put distance on their NFC South rivals in the standings. Unlike Week 3’s loss to the Denver Broncos, however, the Bucs did a lot right in taking the Atlanta Falcons to overtime in a heartbreaking 36-30 loss.
Baker Mayfield threw for three touchdowns, but didn’t get to touch the ball in overtime as Kirk Cousins marched the Falcons 70 yards down the field for the winning score. KhaDarel Hodge was the hero, breaking a tackle to take a short pass 45 yards for the touchdown.
ITS OVER FOLKS! @ATLANTAFALCONS WIN! pic.twitter.com/0siBNxaHKQ
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2024
What did we learn from Thursday night’s loss? Let’s take a look.
Cousins Cranks Up the Pace
The Falcons lost the turnover battle but still managed to out-gain the Bucs by a margin of 480-333 in regulation. With such an advantage in yardage, you’d expect Atlanta to have dominated time of possession on the game.
They didn’t. Atlanta controlled the ball for just 32:22 in the game’s first 60 minutes. They had only one drive longer than 4:30, a 12-play, 5:49 field goal drive to start the third quarter.
Instead of trying to grind out long drives, Cousins orchestrated a lot of no-huddle drives and quick strikes to wear down the depleted Tampa Bay defense. The Falcons ran 77 plays in their regulation time of possession, or a play every 25.2 seconds. By comparison, the Bucs ran a play every 32.5 seconds.
The result was that Tampa could win some plays, but Cousins got to win over the long haul. The Falcons new quarterback threw for 509 yards, but he made mistakes. He got sacked and hit often. He threw a pick in the fourth quarter. But by wearing down Tampa with a barrage of plays, by the time overtime came around, Zion McCollum (who missed the tackle on Hodge) and the “D” didn’t have it anymore.
Missed Opportunities
This game has to be more frustrating than the Denver loss. Clunkers happen, but this game saw Atlanta give Tampa every opportunity to come away with the victory, and they just wouldn’t take it.
Younghoe Koo missed a first-half field goal wide left, and had a second-half kick blocked. The Bucs could only take advantage on a field goal after the first miss, then fumbled the ball away on the ensuing drive after the block. Lavonte David came up huge with a fourth-quarter pick on Cousins to stop the bleeding with 1:52 left. Instead, the Bucs went three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Falcons with 1:14 remaining.
The Bucs offense repeated their strategy from last week, with Mayfield trying to avoid sacks by throwing quick, shorter passes. And it worked again, except for one crucial play. On a third-and-three from Atlanta’s seven-yard line, Mayfield went back to throw. Expecting a blitz, he instead sees eight Falcons dropped back in coverage, his options completely blanketed. He took his only sack of the game, losing seven yards and having to settle for a field goal, turning a potential 31-20 lead into a 27-20 contest.
Mike’d Up
Look, the loss might sour it a little bit, but there’s no doubt that we witnessed something special when Mike Evans made his 100th career touchdown reception last night.
ONE HUNDRED TDs!!! 💯 @MikeEvans13_#TBvsATL on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0uBitAnBvJ— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2024
At this point, what more can you say about Evans? Just put him in the Hall of Fame right now. In fact, the NFL should’ve done it at halftime just to upstage Atlanta’s Matt Ryan Ring of Honor ceremony. Celebrate someone who has a ring.
The company he’s in, historically, is simply stupid. Look at these names!
WRs with 100+ TDs in their first 160 games:
Jerry Rice
Randy Moss
Terrell Owens
Marvin Harrison
MIKE EVANS🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/mwetJ1ioN0
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) October 4, 2024
As of now, Evans is tied for 24th all-time in touchdowns with Frank Gore, Franco Harris, and Curtis Martin. Through 10.25 seasons, Evans has more touchdowns than…
- Jerome Bettis (94 TDs in 13 seasons)
- Isaac Bruce (91 TDs in 16 seasons)
- Steve Smith Sr. (89 TDs in 16 seasons)
- Thurman Thomas (88 TDs in 13 seasons)
- Hines Ward (85 TDs in 14 seasons)
- Reggie Wayne (82 TDs in 14 seasons)
And a bunch of other dudes with longer careers. Evans’ greatness becomes more undeniable by the day, and a Thursday Night Football loss can’t take anything away from it.
Up Next